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Switzerland-based Holcim Foundation has tied up with the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay as part of its third International Holcim Awards Competition. Besides participating in various events organised by the Holcim Foundation, the institute will shortlist projects from the Asia Pacific region for the award.
Mr Edward Schwarz, General Manager, Holcim Foundation, said the tie-up will be valid for three years and help students of the IIT-B share their thoughts on sustainable construction by participating in international forums.
“Sustainable construction aims to reduce the environmental impact of a building over its entire lifecycle, while optimising its economic viability, comfort and the safety of its occupants,” he said.
Holcim Foundation has similar tie-ups with leading international technical universities such as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich); Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico; Ecole Supérieure d'Architecture de Casablanca, Morocco; Tongji University, China; Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil; and University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Prize money
The awards offer prize money of $2 million and is open to sustainable building and civil engineering works, landscaping, urban design and infrastructure projects and materials, products and construction technologies.
Registration for the award closes on March 23. Entries can be submitted using a Web-based form at www.holcimawards.org.
The main category of the competition is open to architects, planners, engineers, project owners, builders and construction firms that showcase sustainable responses to technological, environmental, socioeconomic and cultural issues with contemporary building and construction. Projects are eligible for the competition if they have reached an advanced stage of design.
Construction (or commercial production in the case of materials, products and construction technologies) must not have begun before July 1, 2010. In addition, the Holcim Awards seeks vision and ideas for the “Next Generation” category, open to student projects created within university programmes at the final year level or above (including Master's and PhD).
Evaluation
Project submissions are evaluated by independent global juries based on a set of target issues relating to sustainable construction.
“They serve to assess each submission against environmental, social and economic performance. An additional target issue applies specifically to architecture and a final criterion recognises the need for innovation and transferable approaches,” said Mr Schwarz.
The results of the competition will be announced at regional ceremonies later this year in Milan, Washington, Buenos Aires, Casablanca and Singapore. Winners of the gold, silver and bronze awards from each of the five geographic regions will then progress to the Global Holcim Awards in 2012.
Some of the projects that have won Holcim Gold Awards include a comprehensive urban renewal project in Budapest, Hungary; a sustainable energy showcase and resource centre in New York; an urban planning project for a commune in Medellín, Colombia; a remediation and urban development scheme for the river precinct in Fez, Morocco; and a sustainable development project for a rural community on the urban fringe of Beijing.
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